Vice President Kamala Harris has sparked controversy among Catholic voters after a video skit she sent to the annual Al Smith Dinner in New York City on Thursday. Harris, who did not attend the event in person, instead sent a “comedic” video that left many Catholics offended and outraged.
The skit featured comedian Molly Shannon reprising her 1990s-era “Saturday Night Live” character, Mary Katherine Gallagher, a hyperactive Catholic schoolgirl. In the video, Shannon’s character interrupts Harris’ speech to deliver an awkward punchline: “I just want to say that I am Catholic, and tonight is one of the biggest dinners next to the Last Supper.”
While meant to be humorous, many felt the comparison between the prestigious charity dinner and the sacred Last Supper was in poor taste. The timing of the joke also exacerbated frustrations, coming just after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, co-chair of Harris’ campaign, faced backlash for her own controversial video. In Whitmer’s video, which went viral last week, she mockingly equated a Doritos chip with a Eucharist wafer, drawing condemnation from Catholic organizations.
Several Catholics took to social media to express their displeasure with Harris’ video. One user commented, “Yep. Every bit as cringe and blasphemous as Gretchen Whitmer’s Dorito Eucharist. There is nothing real or genuine with Kamala.” Another called the skit “the most embarrassing, desperate, sad fail of propaganda I have seen in a long time.”
The Al Smith Dinner, named after former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, is a major charity event attended by political leaders and often viewed as a moment for lighthearted humor. However, Harris’ video missed the mark for many attendees and viewers, particularly Catholics, who found the content insensitive.
Harris’ video, paired with Whitmer’s recent faux pas, has further strained relations between the Democratic Party and Catholic voters. Catholic Vote, a prominent advocacy group, criticized both videos as indicative of the “gross anti-Catholic bigotry festering inside the Democratic Party.”
As Harris campaigns for the presidency, the fallout from this incident may make it harder for her to win over Catholic voters, a key demographic in several swing states.
https://twitter.com/PensFan07x/status/1847244144634122358?
Still another wrote, “That was… very bad. There’s no Catholic I know of that would remotely put the Al Smith dinner close to the Last Supper. That’s blasphemous. Evidently Kamala really doesn’t know Catholics.”
Dr. Taylor Marshall, author and host of a popular Catholic news podcast with over 1 million YouTube subscribers, posted on X, “Why did Kamala just purposely offend every Catholic in the United States?”
https://twitter.com/TaylorRMarshall/status/1847111828570071191?
Comedian Jim Gaffigan, who emceed Thursday’s Al Smith Dinner and is Catholic, responded to Harris’ video: “As I watched that, I couldn’t help but think of, now I know how my kids felt when I FaceTimed into a piano recital they were at. Anyway …,” he said after he first offered a polite, trailing off golf clap.
https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1847090546172448798?
Earlier in the event, Gaffigan noted, “You know, this event has been referred to as the Catholic Met Gala. Twenty-two percent of Americans identify as Catholic. Catholics will be a key demographic in every battleground state. I’m sorry, why is Vice President Harris not here?”
https://twitter.com/overton_news/status/1847103306721583413?
Trump took his own shot at Harris’ absence saying, “All polls are indicating I’m leading big with the Catholic vote, as I should be, but I don’t think Kamala has given up yet. She hasn’t. Instead of attending tonight, she’s in Michigan receiving communion from Gretchen Whitmer.”
Gaffigan and many in the crowd burst into laughter.
https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1847093580927471956?
